NCIS: New Orleans - The Asset Review: “One Last Go”
4.3 - "The Asset”
Directed by Tony Wharmby
Written by: Christopher Silber
Reviewed by Kelly Anne Blount
This episode starts with two men driving down the road. They have just arrived in New Orleans. One of the guys seems very nervous. Suddenly, out of nowhere, two SUVs pull up behind them and knock their car into the water. One of the guys is knocked unconscious while their vehicle starts to take on massive amounts of water. The driver is able to get out of their car and find air, but he quickly has to dive back under the water because the men from the SUVs open fire. The conscious man sucks oxygen from the tires as his friend remains strapped in the front seat.
Meanwhile, LaSalle heads into HQ. He, Sebastian, and Patton start talking about Pride. He’s playing by all of the rules. The team is still under scrutiny.
Pride tells them that a Navy Seal has been pulled out of the water. He reassures the guys that no one is taking his job.
As the crew heads down to the water, Loretta tells Pride that their victim, Navy Yeoman Winters, was stationed over in Berlin, Germany. He’s a long way from there! He died instantly and it wasn’t an accident. Sebastian and LaSalle report that the vehicle Winters had been pulled out of was hit at high speed.
Sebastian points out that one of the tires was possibly used as a makeshift breathing device. Pride wants them to track down the survivor, if there is one.
Back at HQ, Sebastian apologizes to Percy and Gregorio. The case interrupted their moving day. He warns them not to ask Pride about the phone call he was on during the morning. He was on the phone with his bosses, making sure everything in their last case was handled perfectly. Pride must be really frustrated, as Loretta pointed out at the scene, he’s used to running his own team the way he wants and without answering to anyone.
There’s footage of the survivor from the vehicle in the water. He’s in amazing shape and appears to have military training. He’s on the run and they’ve lose his trail.
Patton has info from the victim’s GPS. The two guys drove from Fort Lauderdale to New Orleans, taking the backroads the entire time.
The victim’s SUV had a bug tracking it’s GPS. Someone else was keeping track on the victims.
Pride and Gregorio head to the last known location that was tracking the victim’s GPS. The crew head to a warehouse that is under construction. Gregorio runs into a woman with a gun. The woman claims that she’s a federal agent. There are a few tense moments before Isler, Gregorio’s old boss, pops around the corner and tells Gregorio and Pride that FBI Special Agent Thorne is with him. What is going on here? Why is the FBI moving in on NCIS’ case?
Pride is angry. He wants to know why the FBI is involved. Why would the FBI be tracking the sailor who died in the river? Isler wants to keep it on the down low.
Isler explains that Winters, the vic, became friends with his Russian counterpart, Alexander Petrov. He was the passenger in the SUV. Turns out Petrov had a list of every covert Russian operative operating in the US. He only agreed to turn the evidence over to Isler, in person, in New Orleans. Anything else was unacceptable. Thorne adds that no one was to be trusted.
Pride tells Isler and Thorne that Petrov is still alive. Isler tells Pride and Gregorio that they can help, but only if it’s off the books. That makes Gregorio nervous, but Pride is okay with it.
Agent Thorne fills the rest of the NCIS team in on Petrov’s background. They stare at her the entire time. LaSalle frowns while looking at Throne’s suit and asks, “Does the FBI send you all to the same store?” Ha ha! Percy points out that Thorne is a replica of Gregorio. I’m weak! Sebastian says that she’s like a, “Tammy 2.0.”
UH OH! Patton has an update. Guess who Petrov called? Eveline Casey a.k.a. Eva Azarova, a former Russian sleeper agent. Percy and LaSalle add that they have worked with and against her several times.
Isler and Pride head over to jail to talk to Eva. She says that a lot of agencies, the C.I.A., D.E.A., etc. come to visit her. They bring her gifts in exchange for her help. Pride and Isler wants her help. She tells them that she is out of the game. Eva says that she’s, “found inner peace.” Pride says that she owes him and that they have a past.
Eva admits that she and Petrov trained together. She says that Petrov trusts her and that if Pride puts her in the field, she can bring the team to Petrov. Pride says he’s out. He doesn’t want to risk it. Isler feels differently.
Isler and Pride fill the team in on Eva's past. Gregorio volunteers to ride with Eva because she knows what to expect. Ohhhh! I forgot about Greogio and Azarova’s past! It’s all coming back to me now.
Once they are in the car, Eva wastes no time. She accuses Gregorio of wanting some alone time. Gregorio shuts her down as Percy and LaSalle listen in on their conversation. LaSalle says that something seems off with Gregorio and Azarova. Percy sticks up for Gregorio and quickly says that takes her friends at their word. LaSalle wants to know what that means. Percy brushes him off. Their relationship is really struggling right now and I don’t like it.
Azarova and Gregorio head up the steps to the Russian safe house where Petrov is possibly hiding. With her handcuffs off, Eva is a major flight risk. Gregorio tells her that she’ll break Azarova’s jaw if she tries anything.
They find Petrov. Gregorio tries to reach Percy and LaSalle, but no one responds. Azarova hears something. Uh oh!
With her gun drawn, Gregorio attacks a man and a woman who burst into the room. Azarova runs to her side to help. They take down the two bad guys, but Petrov gets away in the meantime. Percy and LaSalle show up, but it’s too late. Someone cut their com.
Thorne wants to know what happened. She blames Azarova for giving the Russian spies operatives a heads up. Pride says that didn’t happen.
Pride interviews Callie Tillford, one of the operatives. She says that there is no such thing as a “former sleeper agent,” alleging that Eva is still an agent of the Russian government. Pride doesn’t get much out of her, except that she thinks Eva is still working with the Russian government. Tillford adds that her handlers have leverage over her, but she won’t say what they have on her.
Gregorio says that she needs to interview Eva. She thinks that Eva trusts her, but she wants to do it somewhere Eva will feel comfortable. Gregorio and Percy bring her back to their place. Gregorio pours her a glass of wine and invites Eva into her bedroom to get intel out of her.
Eva admits that Petrov is her brother and she is worried about him. She thinks that the government will use her brother for his intel and then put him in jail. Gregorio appears to have broken through Eva’s hard exterior, but we quickly find out that Eva is in danger. Patton and Sebastian tell LaSalle that another Russian hit team is on the loose and looking for Eva and her brother.
LaSalle calls Percy with the bad news. She knocks on Gregorio’s door and tells them that they need to head back to HQ immediately. When no one responds, she opens the door to find an empty room. Where did they go? Did the other hit team get to them first? Things are not looking good!
Percy tells Pride, Thorne, and Isler about Gregorio and Eva. Turns out Thorne put out a bolo on Gregorio’s car, which has just been located. Isler is angry that they took Eva out of custody and the safety of HQ. Isler thinks Pride has an angle and is working on something behind the scenes. I think Isler is right, something is definitely up with Pride’s behavior.
Percy gets ready to leave, saying that she is going to try to track down Gregorio. She’s worried that Thorne doesn’t have Gregorio’s best interest in mind. LaSalle stirs up trouble when he says that he would have put out the bolo too. He reminds Percy that Eva could have kidnapped Gregorio. Percy is angry. She trusts Gregorio’s judgement and is upset that LaSalle isn’t doing the same. They get into it. He asks, “What’s your problem?” They argue with the premise that they are talking about Gregorio, but they are really talking about their relationship. Ouch! Things are getting ugly between these two and I don’t like it.
Making things more complicated, more Russian operatives just arrived at the airport. Petrov’s life might be in even more danger now than before.
Sebastian pulls Gregorio’s phone number and interrupts Percy and LaSalle with the news. Right before she and Eva went missing last night, Gregorio called Pride.
We cut over to Gregorio and Eva. Both appear to be fine. Gregorio is driving to an old shut down amusement park. Eva says that her younger brother loved going to them and that there was nothing like them back home in Russia. She thinks he is hiding out here. Gregorio points out that it’s a good place for an ambush.
They find Petrov. He’s okay. He says that he came to America to save Eva. Intelligence files that were given to Petrov had his sister’s name with a red line drawn through it. That means that she has been marked for death. He had no idea that Eva was already safe and in jail for 60 years. He said the danger was worth it to see his sister again. Gregorio breaks up the reunion with some bad news. Someone has turned her phone on, which means that they are most likely being tracked. Looks like things are about to get a whole lot worse for Eva and her brother.
Back at HQ, Percy, LaSalle, and Sebastian confront Pride about his phone call with Gregorio the night before. Pride says that Gregorio is nowhere near her car, so the bolo is useless. He tells the team that he sent Gregorio and Eva to go pick up her brother and bring him back safely. Patton interrupts and tells everyone that Gregorio’s phone has been remotely accessed and the Russian operatives have her location. Yikes!
Patton has more bad news. The team’s phones have all been bugged. The Russian operatives knew their every step ahead of time. Someone on the inside is responsible for the bugs. Patton accuses Isler of monitoring them. Pride announces that its Thorne.
The team heads down to the abandoned amusement park, but they are too late. The Russian spies have opened fire on Gregorio, Eva, and Alexander. Gregorio tells Eva and Alexander to make a run for it while she draws fire. As they are running, one of the bad guys points a gun directly at Eva. Seconds before he shoots her, Throne arrives on scene and takes him out.
OH MY GOSH! Thorne asks where Gregorio is, to which Eva replies, “behind us.” Throne doesn’t hesitate to put several rounds in Eva’s chest as her brother watches on in horror.
Gregorio, who saw the entire thing go down and she tackles Thorne. Unfortunately, Thorne gets the best of her and fights back. Pride and Isler show up just in time and take out another bad guy with a massive gun.
Thorne says that Eva attacked her, which Gregorio says is a lie. Isler accuses Thorne of being a double agent. While she is denying it, Gregorio kicks the gun away and throws Thorne to the ground, handcuffing her.
Pride tries to comfort Gregorio while Eva is laying on the ground. The team thinks she’s dead, but I think this is all a rouse. I think she’s wearing a vest and that she’s going to follow her dream, moving to Montana, where she can finally be free. I mean, there weren’t even any blood spots on her sweater. Anyone else think this is the case?
Pride and Isler fill in the team. Agent Thorne was a double agent and as soon as she received the intel about Alexander’s list, she tricked Isler into doing an off the books investigation. He could be in big trouble for letting his protégé trick him. He’s worried and Pride is too.
As Pride heads off to make a call to his boss to “selectively” explain what happened during the case, LaSalle asks Percy if she wants to talk. He says, “there’s a lot of tension between us.” Percy says, “Absolutely not.” Ugh! PerSalle, get it together and get together!
YES! Eva is alive! Loretta tells Eva that Pride and Gregorio set everything up. Loretta has used a body from the morgue and is filing paperwork stating that Eva Azarova has died. Looks like Eva did have a bulletproof vest, courtesy of Gregorio.
The U.S. Marshalls have stepped in and Eva and her brother are going to into Witness Protection. Eva tells Gregorio that she’s happy, but she says, “The problem is, I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again.”
Gregorio says, “Never say never,” and kisses Eva right in the middle of the morgue. Get it, Gregorio! She hugs Eva moments before she leaves with her brother and the Marshalls.
*******
My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this episode! I had completely forgotten about Eva’s character, but it was nice to see that she has come full circle. She has decided to help bring down a major Russian operative circle and she saved her brother as well.
It was sad realizing that she and Gregorio might not see each other ever again, but the logistics of that relationship, i.e., NCIS agent and ex-spy, would be really difficult to manage.
I strongly dislike that Percy and LaSalle aren’t getting along! They just need to sit down and talk to each other, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen any time soon.
What did you think of the episode? Did you think Eva had died in the shootout? What do you think the future holds for PerSalle?
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